| 4/4 time (each cell one measure) | - | ||||||||
| Am | Am | Am/G | Am/G | The | careful textbooks | measure... let | all who build be- | ware | |
| D9/F# | D9/F# | F | F | The | load, the shock, the | pressure... ma- | te-r-i-al can | bear | |
| Am | Am | G | G | So | when the buckled | girder... lets | down the grinding | span | |
| D | E | Am | The | blame of loss or | murder... is | la-id upon the | man | ||
| Am/G | F | G | F | .. .. not on the | steel... ... ... the | man | |||
| Am | G | D | (skip) | interlude | (skip) | ||||
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | But | in our dail - y | dealings... with | stone and steel we | find | |
| Am | G | D | Em | The | gods have no such | feeling... of | justice towards man | kind | |
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | To | no set gauge they | make us... to | no laid course pre- | pare | |
| Am | G | D | Em | In | time they over | take us... with | loads we cannot | bear | |
| Am | G | D | E | .. .. to merci | less... ... ... to | bear | |||
| Am | G | D | (skip) | interlude | (skip) | ||||
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | The | pru-dent text-books | give it... in | ta - bles at... the | end | |
| Am | G | D | Em | The | stress that shears a | rivet... or | makes a tie - bar | bend | |
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | What | traffic wrecks ma- | cadam... what | concrete should en- | dure | |
| Am | G | D | Em | But | we poor sons of | Adam... have | no such li - tera - | ture | |
| Am | G | D | E | .. .. to warn us | or... make | sure... | |||
| Am | G | D | (skip) | interlude | (skip) | ||||
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | We | hold all Earth to plun | der... all | time and space as | well | |
| Am | G | D | Em | Too | won-der stale to | won-der... at | each new mira - | cle | |
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | What | traffic wrecks ma - | cadam... what | concrete should en- | dure | |
| Am | G | D | Em | But | we poor sons of | Adam... have | no such liter - a - | ture | |
| Am | G | D | E | ... ... to warn us | or... make | sure... | |||
| Am | G | D | (skip) | interlude | (skip) | ||||
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | We | on - ly in crea | tion...(how-much | luckier the bridge and | rail | |
| Am | G | D | Em | Too | won-der stale to | won-der... at | each new mira - | cle | |
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | What | traffic wrecks ma - | cadam... what | concrete should en- | dure | |
| Am | G | D | Em | But | we poor sons of | Adam... have | no such liter - a - | ture | |
| Am | G | D | E | ... ... to warn us | or... make | sure... | |||
| Am | G | D | (skip) | interlude | (skip) | ||||
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | Oh | veiled and se - cret | power... whose | paths we seek in | vain | |
| Am | G | D | Em | Be | with us in our | hour... of | o-ver-throw and | pain | |
| Am | Am/G | D9/F# | F | That | we by which sole to- | ken... we | know thy ways are | TRUE | |
| Am | G | D | Em | In | spite of be-ing | broken... or be | cause of be-ing | broken | |
| Am | G | D | E | ... rise up and | build... a-new... | ||||
| Am | G | D | (skip) | interlude | (skip) | ||||